BASF SE,the world's largest chemicals maker, postponed cultivation of the genetically modified Amflora potato to at least next year after the European Commission failed to rule on its approval.
The European Union's executive body "is violating the EU's own rules"by delaying a decision, Hans Kast, head of BASF's Plant Science said today in a statement. The approval was withheld "apparently for political reasons as no factual reason is given,"he said.
It is now too late in the year to start planting the crop, altered to enhance its starch content for industrial use, spokeswoman Mette Johansson said. BASF is considering various responses including legal action, she said. Possible locations for cultivation are Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
